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to signify these things, so that not even a trace of the moisture of waters would appear, neither in the river, nor in the marsh, nor outside around the river, nor in its middle, nor in canals, nor in stagnant waters; and that there will be a sudden failure of all these things, so that nowhere in the land of the Egyptians would waters exist. If, then, the prophecy had brought on, in addition to these things, the disappearance of men, there would be nothing left to investigate; for it would have followed that with so great a river and all water having failed, every living creature would perish, being deprived of the river. But now, since it mentions that even after the failure of the waters there will be a multitude of men in Egypt, and that there will be an altar in Egypt, and that the Egyptians will sacrifice to the Lord, and he will send them a man who will save them, and the Lord will be known to the Egyptians. Who would not reasonably ask how these will survive when all the water has failed, so that the land partakes not even of greenness? But this passage forces even the one who is unwilling to move to a tropical interpretation, so that out of necessity one understands Egyptian rivers and waters to mean either the multitudes of the Egyptian power, or their kingdom which of old flooded like rivers, or, according to another interpretation, the philosophy that formerly flourished among the Egyptians, concerning which it has been said: “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians”; for this was very great, and great was the river flowing among them, the discourse of the wisdom admired among them. And of this there were many parts, being broken up into many canals and into many rivers, the discourses of each of the disciples among them, from which grew not vines nor olives nor any of the fruit-bearing and necessary trees, but papyrus and reed and the green sedge. But when the Egyptian waters fail, the hunters of fish, that is, of human souls, are said to mourn. You will understand the fishermen and net-casters mentioned in the prophecy from other fishermen and net-draggers, I mean the apostles and disciples of our Savior, to whom he said: “Come, and I will make you fishers of men.” For if these through their teaching hunted the souls of men, drawing them to salvation, why would you not also say that the so-called fishermen and net-casters of the Egyptians were the ancient teachers of the philosophy among them, who through Egyptian sorcery ensnared, as if baiting with hooks, those caught by them. You will understand their drag-nets from the parable of our Savior, through which it is said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a drag-net cast into the sea and gathering fish of every kind.” Therefore, just as in the parable men are called fish and the evangelical word concerning the kingdom of heaven is the drag-net, so also here the intricate cleverness of the Egyptian word would be the drag-net and the casting-nets likewise. And the fish caught in the drag-net and captured by them would be those dragged down by deceitful sophistries into every form of godless superstition. The net-casters of Egypt, then, are said to groan and mourn, no longer having work because of the Lord who came upon them and destroyed all their wisdom according to the saying: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will set aside.” Thus you will also understand those who work the flax, not the strong and unbreakable but the carded, that is, a discourse torn apart and divided, and the fine linen likewise, since these things also partook of the river of the Egyptians, being watered from it. Therefore the passage says that their workers will groan, when the fabrics made from these things were no longer available to them for the covering and adornment of their wisdom. For through flax, as well as fine linen, they devised adornment and covering for themselves, covering their falsehood with certain persuasive and deceitful words. And not only these

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τούτων σημαίνειν, ὡς μηδὲ ἴχνος νοτίδος ὑδάτων μήτ' ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ φαίνεσθαι μήτ' ἐν τῷ ἕλει μήτ' ἀμφὶ τὸν ποταμὸν ἐκτὸς μήτ' ἐν αὐτῷ μέσῳ μήτ' ἐν διώρυξι μήτ' ἐν στασίμοις ὕδασι· λεῖψιν δ' ἀθρόως τούτων ἔσεσθαι ἁπάντων ὡς μηδαμοῦ τῆς Αἰγυπτίων γῆς ὕδατα ὑφεστάναι. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐπήγαγεν ἀφανισμὸν ἡ προφητεία, οὐδὲν ἐλείπετο ζητεῖν· ἀκόλουθον γὰρ ἦν τοῦ τοσούτου ποταμοῦ καὶ παντὸς ὕδατος ἐκλιπόντος πᾶν ζῷον ἀπόλλυσθαι τοῦ ποταμοῦ στερόμενον. νῦν δ' ὅτε καὶ μετὰ τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων ἔκλειψιν πλήθους ἀνδρῶν γενησομένων ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου μέμνηται, καὶ ὡς ἔσται θυσιαστήριον ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καὶ ὡς θύσουσιν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτοῖς ἄνθρωπον, ὃς σώσει αὐτούς, καὶ γνωστὸς ἔσται κύριος τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις. τίς οὐκ ἂν εὐλόγως ζητήσειε, πῶς οὗτοι διαζήσονται τοῦ παντὸς ὕδατος ἐκλελοιπότος ὡς μηδὲ χλωροῦ μετέχειν τὴν χώραν; ἀλλ' οὗτος ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα βιάζεται ἐπὶ τροπικὴν μεταβαίνειν θεωρίαν, ὥστ' ἐξ ἀνάγκης ποταμοὺς καὶ ὕδατα νοεῖν Αἰγύπτια ἤτοι τὰ πλήθη τῆς Αἰγυπτιακῆς δυνάμεως, ἢ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῶν τὴν πάλαι ποταμῶν δίκην πλημμυροῦσαν, ἢ καθ' ἑτέραν ἐκδοχὴν τὴν παρὰ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις τὸ παλαιὸν ἀκμάζουσαν φιλοσοφίαν, περὶ ἧς λέλεκται· «καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη Μωσῆς πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Αἰγυπτίων»· πολλὴ γάρ τις ἦν αὕτη, καὶ μέγας ἦν ὁ παρ' αὐτοῖς ῥέων ποταμός, ὁ τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς θαυμαζομένης σοφίας λόγος. τούτου τε ὑπῆρχε μέρη πολλὰ κατακερματιζομένου εἰς πολλὰς διώρυγας καὶ εἰς πολλοὺς ποταμοὺς τοὺς καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς μαθητῶν λόγους, ἐξ ὧν ἔφυον οὐκ ἄμπελοι οὐδὲ ἐλαῖαι οὐδέ τι τῶν ἐγκάρπων καὶ ἀναγκαίων δένδρων, ἀλλὰ πάπυρος καὶ κάλαμος καὶ τὸ χλωρὸν ἄχι. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐκλιπόντων τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν ὑδάτων οἱ θηραταὶ τῶν ἰχθύων, δηλαδὴ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ψυχῶν, πενθήσειν λέγονται. νοήσεις δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ λεγομένους ἁλιεῖς καὶ ἀμφιβολεῖς ἐξ ἑτέρων ἁλιέων καὶ σαγηνευτῶν, λέγω δὴ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ μαθητῶν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, οἷς ἔλεγε τό· «∆εῦτε καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων». εἰ γὰρ οὗτοι διὰ τῆς αὐτῶν διδασκαλίας ἐθήρευον τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς ἕλκοντες ἐπὶ σωτηρίαν, διὰ τί οὐκ ἂν εἴποις καὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίων λεγομένους ἁλιεῖς καὶ ἀμφιβολεῖς τοὺς πάλαι διδασκάλους τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς φιλοσοφίας εἶναι, οἳ διὰ τῆς Αἰγυπτιακῆς γοητείας ἐπαγίδευον ὥσπερ ἀγκίστροις δελεάζοντες τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἁλισκομένους. σαγήνας δὲ αὐτῶν νοήσεις ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν παραβολῆς, δι' ἧς εἴρηται· «ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν σαγήνῃ βληθείσῃ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ συλλαβούσῃ ἀπὸ παντὸς γένους ἰχθύων». ὥσπερ οὖν ἐν τῇ παραβολῇ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἰχθύες εἴρηνται καὶ σαγήνη ὁ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν εὐαγγελικὸς λόγος, οὕτως καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ πολύπλοκος δεινότης τοῦ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων λόγου εἴη ἂν ἡ σαγήνη καὶ τὰ ἀμφίβληστρα ὁμοίως. οἱ δὲ σαγηνευόμενοι καὶ ἁλισκόμενοι πρὸς αὐτῶν ἰχθύες ἂν εἶεν οἱ ταῖς ἀπατηλαῖς σοφιστείαις εἰς πᾶν εἶδος ἀθέου δεισιδαιμονίας ὑποσυρόμενοι. στενάξειν δὴ οὖν καὶ πενθήσειν λέγονται οἱ ἀμφιβολεῖς τῆς Αἰγύπτου, μηκέτ' ἔχοντες ἐργασίαν διὰ τὸν ἐπιδημήσαντα αὐτοῖς κύριον καὶ τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτῶν σοφίαν ἀπολέσαντα κατὰ τό· «ἀπολῶ τὴν σοφίαν τῶν σοφῶν, καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν συνετῶν ἀθετήσω». Οὕτω νοήσεις καὶ τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὸ λίνον, οὐ τὸ στερρὸν καὶ ἀρραγὲς ἀλλὰ τὸ σχιστόν, δηλαδὴ λόγον διερρωγότα καὶ διεσχισμένον, καὶ τὴν βύσσον δὲ ὡσαύτως, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὰ τοῦ Αἰγυπτίων ποταμοῦ μετεῖχεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀρδόμενα. διὸ καὶ τοὺς τούτων φησὶν ἐργαστὰς στενάξειν ὁ λόγος· ὅτε μηκέτ' αὐτοῖς πρὸς περιβολὴν καὶ κόσμον τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς σοφίας τὰ διὰ τούτων ὑφάσματα ηὐπορεῖτο. διὰ λίνου γὰρ ὥσπερ καὶ βύσσου κόσμον καὶ περιβολὴν ἑαυτοῖς περιενόουν πιθανοῖς τισι καὶ ἀπατηλοῖς λόγοις τὸ παρ' αὐτοῖς ψεῦδος καλύπτοντες. οὐ μόνους δὲ τούτους